The present invention relates to a system for motivating and/or prompting persons to wash hands, the system comprises a sensor means for detecting use of a toilet or a urinal, which sensor means creates a first signal indicative of that use have been detected, a signaling means for in response to the first signal issuing at least one second signal reminding and/or prompting persons to use a cleansing agent dispenser, and a first transmitter means for transmitting the first signal obtained by the sensor means to the signaling means.
In particular the present invention relates to a system for motivating and/or prompting persons to wash hands subsequent to having used a toilet or a urinal.
Infectious diseases, such as the common cold, flu and gastrointestinal disorders, such as infectious diarrhea are commonly spread through direct or indirect contact to other people. Germs accumulate on the hands from a variety of sources, including direct hand-to-hand contact and touching surfaces other people have touched. Many people do not practice hand washing or only brief hand washing after having used the toilet. Such people are highly responsible for spreading germs and/or contributing to food-related illnesses, such as Salmonella and E. coli infection. Even though most people intend to wash their hands regularly, including after visiting the toilet, the hand-washing technique is inadequate and still not a routine action for many persons. In particular children's minds are occupied by other thoughts and children often forget to wash hands. Furthermore, only rarely adults and children demonstrate a sufficient level of scrupulous hand washing to prevent spreading germs. The hands are not rubbed long enough and not all areas of the hands are scrubbed. In summary hand hygiene, in particular after having used the toilet, is lacking or inadequate, and potentially lethal bacterial and viral epidemics becomes more and more frequent due to bad hand hygiene.
Studies reported in “Experimental Pretesting of Hand-Washing Interventions in a Natural Setting” by Gaby Judah et al., American Journal of Public Health, October 2009, Vol 99, No. S2 p. 405-411, concludes that observation of behavior in a natural setting can help identify the most effective interventions for changing behaviors of public health importance. It was realized that public health interventions should target to men and women differently. Studies have revealed that 25% men and 16% women do not wash hands subsequent to having used the toilet. Further, only 30-35% of these men and women use soap or other cleansing agent for handwashing.
The recent global outbreak of a new strain of influenza A virus subtype H1N1 has made great immediate interest in better systems for inciting and encouraging handwashing.
Known simple measures to encourage hand washing is to put up signs or posters with encouraging information, advices and hints, but most people overlook such information that just becomes part of environment. Another serious problem is that people who actually wash their hands, despite the good intentions do not use a sufficient period of time to ensure germicidal effect to prevent contamination and infection of surroundings.
British patent application no. GB 2425388 A discloses a system for motivating people to wash their hands. A washroom has means to detect the presence of a user by way of entry and exit. The washroom also includes sensors to monitor the use of hand washing. A soap dispenser includes a sensor and a transmitter to signal the event of the dispenser having been used, indicating that hands have been washed in a basin. An alarm is operated if the user exits without having used the dispenser. This known system counts and registers the number of persons entering and exiting the washroom, and compares this number with the number of activations of the soap dispenser. In case of discrepancy an alert is triggered and signals transmitted into the environment. Users are equipped with each their tag to keep records of users individual behavior.
This known system is concerned with registration of the numbers of events and not how effective the event is accomplished. The entrance of a person into the washroom, and not the action of using the toilet, is linked to the soap dispenser and a signal is transmitted once the soap dispenser has been used. Thus this system has no encouragement to wash hand. Further this known system has no measures for motivating towards an appropriate long washing period.
US patent publication US2006191068 discloses a system for encouraging the practice of good hygiene. After use of a tankless toilet, where water is directly admitted from a water supply line into the toilet bowl the user is reminded by a recorded message to thoroughly cleanse his or her hands before leaving. The recorded message is triggered by a surface temperature change of the conduit between the flush valve of the tankless toilet and the toilet bowl. The temperature sensor provides an output signal indicative of the surface temperature of the conduit. The sensor is interrogated at successive predetermined intervals. Means are provided for comparing the output signal of the sensor at the beginning of one interval with the same signal at the beginning of a succeeding interval, and if a change in temperature occurs, another signal is generated which triggers a pre-recorded message, generated by a voice chip and a speaker, urging the toilet user to wash his or her hands. This known system relies on a surface temperature change in the conduit between the flush valve of the tankless toilet and the toilet bowl when water flushes through the normally empty conduit. Since the standing flushwater, that initially enters the toilet bowl when flushing, is heated by the surroundings, the standing flushwater in the conduit and the conduit itself often may reach the same temperature, in particular if the toilet has not been used for some time. Under such circumstances no temperature change can be registered and this system does not perform according to the intention. Moreover, the system requires either prior installation of the temperature sensor or demounting of the conduit for later installation of the sensor. Thus implementation and use of this known system may involve considerable installation costs as well as the system may be unreliable under some temperature and use conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,028,520 relates to an annunciator for a toilet having a seat and a flush handle. The annunciator plays one or more specific prerecorded messages from a number of stored messages. The specific message or messages played are determined by the sensed toilet conditions including operation of the flush handle; occupation of the toilet seat; position of the toilet seat; and proximity of a person to the toilet. These sensed conditions can be measured using a.o. motion detectors and pressure switches to be logically combined to play messages that are particularly suited to the events taking place with respect to the toilet. The annunciator is housed in a plastic housing hanging on the side of a toilet tank under the tank lid, is incorporated into the seat of the toilet or hangs from the flush handle of the toilet. Externally accessible components on the housing include a speaker, a volume control, an on/off switch, and an infrared motion detector. An electrical cable having a pair of electrical wires leads to a flush sensor that provides an indication that the flush handle has been depressed. A second pair of wires leads to a pressure sensor in the toilet seat that detects a person sitting on the seat, while a third pair of wires leads to a tilt sensor that detects whether the seat is raised or lowered on the bowl. This known device is inserted in close proximity to the toilet and exterior to the toilet, so that the device is easy to access for example to exchange the battery. There is however a great risk that the wires are accidentally teared off the device by a person, such as the toilet user or the cleaner, who accidentally disconnects the respective sensors. Thus, although this known annunciator can be mounted on existing installations it has the disadvantage of the complex wired structure. Furthermore, due to the direct mounting on the toilet or on parts of the toilet the annunciator constitutes a surface for deposition on contaminating and infectious matter from toilet users and is in itself unhygienic.
Also U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,015 discloses an apparatus for instructing a person in the use of a toilet and associated personal hygiene. The apparatus includes a housing, which is attachable to a tank cover of a toilet reservoir tank or to other part of the toilet, e.g. using a suction cup. A switch arm extending from the housing is adapted to mechanically couple with the toilet flushing mechanism. An audio speaker is partly enclosed within the housing and produces the audible message. Electronic circuitry enclosed within the housing receives a switch activity signal indicative of the position of the switch arm and responsively activates production of the audible message. A detector unit is adapted to monitor toilet use activity and to produce a detect signal upon detecting such activity. A control unit receives the detect signal and produces a control signal in response thereto. A message storage unit receives the control signal and responsively produces a message signal. A message output unit receives the message signal and produces a corresponding audible message. The message storage unit produces a plurality of message signals, each corresponding with a respective one of a plurality of recorded messages stored in the message storage unit. Selected ones of these messages are then provided to the person in response to detecting toilet use activity. A separate audio speaker may be associated with a sink to provide time-delayed instructions regarding handwashing, relative to the first message, or can itself be activated in response to a signal produced by a separate sensor detecting, for example, a person's motion away from the toilet or near the sink. However motions sensors registering motion in the vicinity of the toilet or near the sink may trigger a lot of false signals not related to actual use of the toilet causing embarrassment to such unlucky people, e.g. people that just accompanies a toilet user, or just want to use a mirror, etc. The mounting on the tank cover is also not hygienic. Moreover, this simple mechanical principle will not function in case the toilet cannot flush.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,773 discloses a system for encouraging good personal hygiene by users of toilet facilities. The system comprises a microphone that is positioned to intercept the sound generated by the flushing toilet, an amplifier, a controller, a voice chip or other audio storage means, and a speaker. The audio signal detected by the microphone is converted to an electrical signal, which is fed to an amplifier. It is common knowledge that a transmitted analog audio signal fades gradually during its transmission path and that an amplifier is needed to reconstruct the analog signal. However amplifiers often add non-linearities that distort the actual signal, for which reason the amplified electrical signal also needs to be filtered and modified by a pulse shaper, in an attempt to isolate a characteristic time-frequency signature of a flushing toilet from extraneous noise. Due to relying solely on analog technique this known system is unreliable, a.o. due to amplification errors and low ability to differentiate between signal and noise. Moreover the microphone and the other components are combined in a unit contained in a compact case for mounting on the ceiling of the toilet facility or at another location out of convenient reach by toilet users, to discourage tampering and vandalism, and a message is issued from this toilet user-inaccessible location. This known system does suffer from the major disadvantage that there is no awards, consequence or penalties to the toilet user if the toilet user does not wash his/hers hands in response to the message. As with all prior art systems, this known system also lacks means and/or guidance to ensure that the toilet user in fact washes his/hers hands instead of just leaves the toilet facility subsequent to using it. The teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,773 discourages to mount components of the system within reach of the toilet user.
Many other measures have been implemented during the years to control hand washing and incite persons to more frequent and effective hand washing, but all known systems suffer from at least one or more of the above disadvantages. The present invention now provides an improved system that overcomes these disadvantages.